Crusaders edge Crushers 1-0 to advance to state title game

Photo by Becky Polaski
Members of the Elk County Catholic Crusaders mob pitcher Brandon Schlimm, 17, after the team's 1-0 victory over Bishop McCort in the Western Final on Monday afternoon.

By

Becky Polaski

With two outs in the top of the seventh of the PIAA Class A Western Final at Rich Kuntz Memorial Field in Punxsutawney, the Bishop McCort Crushers had a runner on third and their own pitcher, Brad Coleman, at the plate. All Coleman, who had spent the game in a pitchers' duel with Schlimm, needed was to reach base safely and the game would be tied. ECC had held a 1-0 advantage since the fourth inning, but the Crushers had left men stranded in all but the sixth.